So one of the big things you notice traveling to Europe is that the American flag is a brand; you see it on shirts, as shirts, purses, shoes, on just about anything that fits the category of "fashion", and more often than any other flag. At first I was a bit purtreb'd by this, but I realized it's about as symbolically accurate as you can get to America, second only to those construction dumpsters with the flag covering one whole side...